I implore the Taoiseach again to ensure an emergency funding package is provided to Monaghan and Cavan county councils in respect of local road restoration. In many areas, our local roads are in the most deplorable state I have ever seen. Over the past number of years, in real terms there has been a substantial reduction in the funding provided to those local authorities for these works. This year, bizarrely and amazingly, there has been a decrease at a time when inflation in road restoration costs is rising constantly. Many people in rural communities are now in a situation where they cannot drive on their local roads without fear of bursting a tire or damaging the suspension of their cars. They pay their taxes, motor tax, local property tax, carbon tax and huge insurance costs. They are paying and paying but they are not getting the level of service with respect to the condition of their roads that they deserve. Will the Government provide emergency funding packages to local authorities this year to address this crisis?

The Deputy will be glad to know that at the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting last evening, Deputy Brendan Smith, Senator Gallagher and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, articulated similar concerns to those the Deputy raised about Monaghan, Cavan and some other areas of the country. We are very conscious of the pressure on roads, especially from storms and inclement weather, which have compounded the problem. Enormous sums of money are going into the national road network. About €1.5 billion was announced on 17 February this year for national, regional and local roads in total. It is a 13% increase on 2025, or €163 million more than last year's allocation. Inflation is eating into that and, as I said, the weather is compounding the problem. As a result, in July we added a further €40 million to address damage to local and regional roads caused by Storm Chandra. We accept there is an issue and we will, in the context of the Estimates, see if we can do more for roads.